Crossfire
by trepidant
Summary: Bella was two weeks away from her high school graduation. She had her whole life spread out in front of her. And then Edward Cullen brought a gun to school. AH. Rated M for Violence, Language and future Lemons **ON HIATUS**
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Hi there. This is my first time posting on this site, so I hope it works correctly.**_

_**Once you've finished reading this, I'd love for you to drop me a review. **_

_**The next chapter should be posted tomorrow.**_

_** Much Love!

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There was nothing special, nothing distinct about that cloudy Thursday morning.

Looking back on it, I wouldn't be able to remember anything out of the ordinary about my morning routine or the way the air smelled as I walked to my beat up old Toyota Camry. The teenagers milling about the parking lot of Forks High looked no different than usual.

But little did I know, my life would change that day.

My life would be altered irrevocably, and as I greeted my friends in the hallway of our dingy high school , I had no clue what was about to take place.

* * *

My morning classes passed without incident.

We were two weeks away from the end of our high school careers and no one wanted to get in trouble and risk not being allowed to graduate.

The only blip on the Forks High radar screen came from the rumors circulating about Jessica Stanley. Apparently, she'd slept with Tyler Crowley at a party a few months ago and now her clothes were fitting a little tighter around her midsection.

If you had asked me when I first arrived at Forks High who I would bet on getting knocked up, I would have said Lauren Mallory. But Jessica was a close second choice. She threw herself at every boy in school, desperate for attention. It figured that when a guy finally got past her annoying personality and slept with her, she would end up pregnant.

It looked like something out of a movie as Jessica walked to her locker. The crowds of students parted and everyone's voices lowered to whispers as they watched her. If Jessica hadn't been such a bitch to me over the two years that I attended Forks High, I might have been more inclined to feel sorry for her.

I grabbed my biology book from my locker and shoved it into my backpack before slamming the metal door shut.

My stomach growled softly as I entered the biology classroom. I was happy lunch was next period, I had made the unwise decision to skip breakfast and was paying for it now.

I wiggled my fingers in a wave as I passed my best friend Angela and her boyfriend Ben who were giggling and playing footsie under their lab table. Angela blushed and waved back with a sheepish grin.

I settled myself on my stool and frowned as Jessica entered the classroom. I had cursed every deity there was when I had been assigned Jessica as a lab partner. Not only was she a stuck-up superbitch, but she was dumb as a brick. I ended up doing most of the class presentations alone as she stood beside me popping her gum and twirling her bleach-blonde hair around her finger. Everyone knew that Jessica got Eric Yorkie, the resident geek of the senior class, to do all of her homework and in exchange, he got to sit with the cheerleaders at lunch.

Jessica looked dejected today, due in part to the way everyone was talking about her, I was sure.

I heard snickering behind me and I turned around to see Mike Newton snickering as Jessica adjusted her loose-fitting shirt again. I frowned at him. "Something funny, Newton?" His mouth fell open in surprise that I was seemingly sticking up for Jessica. "Uh, no. Not really, Bella."

I turned back to face the front of the room and almost missed the quiet "Thanks" that Jessica murmured.

I muttered a "You're welcome" and then pulled my textbook out of my backpack as Mr. Molina entered the classroom and closed the door behind him.

He quickly calls roll and everyone is present except for Edward Cullen. It doesn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Edward has always missed a lot of classes and we all wondered how he didn't get flunked out of school. Then he would make a presentation in front of the class and we knew why he wasn't. The boy was freakishly intelligent.

Mr. Molina handed out a pop quiz and there was a collective groan from the class. Mr. Molina was famous for his pop quizzes at Forks High. They always seemed to come at the worst possible times, like when you had skipped reading your chapters the night before and hoped you didn't get called on in class. I had read my chapters the night before, but was not any more excited than the rest of the class. Biology was not my best subject.

I sighed and pulled out my pen, hunching over my paper to begin.

* * *

Halfway through the allotted time for our quiz, there was a commotion in the hallway outside of the classroom.

Mr. Molina frowned in the direction of the door and then turned back to us. "Eyes on your papers, kids."

I tried to follow the teacher's instructions but it became increasingly difficult as shouts and loud noises continued to be heard from the hallway. A piercing scream caused Mr. Molina to stand up and move toward the door.

"Everyone stay in your seats. I'll be right back." He rushed out of the room and we were all left staring at the door in confusion and curiosity.

A few seconds later, a loud -–BANG-was heard and Ben gasped out an "Oh my God."

Mike's voice from behind me echoed in the silent classroom. "Was that a…a gunshot?"

Angela grabbed Ben's hand. "Maybe we should all try to leave. Go out the window or something?"

Jessica piped up from her spot beside me. "The video they showed at the assembly at the beginning of the year said that in case of an emergency we should stay in the classroom until further directions are given." I nodded, surprised that Jessica could remember the assembly at all considering she was making out with Tyler through most of it.

"They don't need a stampede of scared teenagers running all over the school. Let's just stay here until someone comes to tell us what's going…"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence because just then, the door to the classroom was thrown open and there in the doorway was Edward Cullen.

His eyes swept the room, stopping briefly on me. "Well, hello there."

He slowly raised his right arm from where he'd been holding it at his side and my heart stopped.

Jessica screamed and I heard the scraping of stools as my classmates dropped to the floor with their hands over their heads.

But me, I was frozen in place and Edward Cullen was pointing a gun straight at me. 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thank you to all of you who reviewed the first chapter, especially to Mary who gave me my first review. _**

**_I myself am guilty of reading updates and not reviewing, but it would mean the world to me if you'd take a second to drop me a line._**

**_I respond to every signed review!_**

**_Also, I didn't post a disclaimer in the first chapter, but I'm sure you all know that I don't own anything except the plot of this story. Stephenie Meyer owns the rest.  
_**

**_More at the bottom, but for now, on with the show...

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I couldn't swallow past the lump in my throat as I stared at the gun in Edward's hand.

"Everybody stand up, right now." Edward's tone was frighteningly cool.

My classmates rose to their feet and I followed suit. I thought about the cell phone in the front pocket of my backpack and cursed myself inwardly for not putting it in the pocket of my jeans like I usually did.

"Line up, against the wall. Don't say a word."

Angela whimpered and my eyes darted to hers. Tears were streaming silently down her cheeks and she was trembling uncontrollably. Ben squeezed her hand a little tighter as they moved to press against the wall at the back of the classroom. I turned to make my way back to my classmates, my heart pounding in my chest.

A sudden shriek behind me caused me to whirl around.

Edward had Jessica in a headlock, his arm wrapped tightly around her neck. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her head as he pressed the gun to her temple. My stomach lurched.

"Edward, DON'T!"

His eyes flashed as he looked at me. "Why not, Isabella? You hate Jessica. Everyone hates Jessica. I'd be doing us all a favor by shooting her."

"Please, put the gun down. Whatever's going on, it's not worth killing someone. You can't do this." I was shaking and my words were coming out in a breathy voice that betrayed my fear.

Edward snorted. "Nice hostage negotiation tactics, Isabella. Learn that from your daddy?" He dug the gun into the side of Jessica's head again and she let out a strangled sob.

"She's pregnant, okay? You can't hurt her. Please, Edward!"

Edward's eyes widened and I realized that he must not have known about Jessica's condition. He lowered the gun and I let out a momentary sigh of relief.

But then he raised the gun and pointed it at me again. "Come here."

He shoved Jessica away from him and she stumbled forward before dashing madly for the rest of our classmates.

I was frozen in place with Edward still pointing the gun at me. "I said, COME HERE!" His shout echoed in the classroom and I flinched.

I took one step toward him and he launched himself forward, grabbing my wrist in a vice-like grip. He cocked the gun and pressed it to my forehead.

"You're all graduating in two weeks. Two fucking weeks until you can begin your lives as adults at your fancy fucking colleges and internships. You're all going to escape this hellhole of a town and 'make something of yourselves' and come back as conquering heroes." He glared down at me. "What college are _you _going to, Isabella?"

I swallowed thickly, trying to control my breathing enough to answer him. "Dartmouth."

He smirked cruelly. "Dartmouth. Well isn't that just fan-fucking-tastic? You're all going to go off to Dartmouth and Harvard and the University of Washington and UCLA and wherever else you got accepted. What about me? Do you think _Dartmouth_ wanted me? The boy who's been in and out of mental institutions since the time he was five? The boy who tried to slit his wrists last month? It doesn't matter that my grades are the best in the school. It doesn't matter that I can write circles around every last one of you. Because once they saw my medical records, they couldn't send me the rejection letters fast enough."

My eyes widened at each new piece of information he spewed out at us. There had been rumors that Edward had a history of mental problems when he was a kid, but he had always seemed normal at school. Quiet and reclusive, but normal. No one had known anything about his attempted suicide, or it would have been all over the school.

"I'll be stuck in this town, working some shitty job at the Thriftway or the gas station and I'll be forced to endure all the pitying looks when you come home to visit for the holidays."

Anger bubbled in my stomach. "What will this accomplish? Killing your classmates and your teachers, how will this change anything?"

He smirked down at me. "You have a big mouth, little girl. That's going to get you in trouble one day." His eyes moved over my head, focusing on my classmates, I assumed.

"People will fear me. They'll tell stories about this for years to come. I won't be the poor boy who couldn't go to college like the rest of his classmates. I'll be the man who took control of his life."

"You're crazy." I spat. "They'll throw you in prison, or worse. You think they're going to let you just walk out of here if you kill us? They'll shoot you on sight."

His eyes were back on me and they were flashing in anger. "Who said anything about killing you? Listen carefully, Isabella Swan. Right now, the entire Forks Police department is probably outside this school. They're going to want to shoot me when I walk out those doors. But they most certainly _won't_ shoot me if I have a hostage. Especially if that hostage is the only daughter of the Chief of Police."

A shiver of fear ran up my spine.

I heard the murmuring of my classmates behind me and what sounded like someone moving toward me and then Edward's arm whipped above my head and the piercing sound of a gunshot ricocheted off the walls of the classroom. I whirled to find Ben Cheney on the ground a few feet away from me, clutching his profusely bleeding leg.

Angela screeched and rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside him.

"I told you not to move. If anyone else wants to be heroic and try to keep me from taking Bella out of here, be my guest. The gun is fully loaded."

Ben groaned in pain and my eyes filled with tears.

"If you're going to kill us all anyway, why not just get it over with?" Mike's voice quavered as he uttered the words.

Edward's grip on my wrist tightened. "I never said I was going to kill you, Newton. I never said I was going to kill anyone. I shot Mr. Molina out in the hallway. I shot him in the stomach, but it was a shot clean through. He'll be fine. I shot Ben, but I shot him in the leg. He might need surgery, but he'll be fine. All I want is for people to remember me, to know my name for some reason other than being the town disappointment. This is the most exciting thing to happen in Forks in decades. I'll take Bella out of here as my hostage, we'll lead them on a merry chase for a few days and then I'll drop her at some police station in another state and make my escape. I'll be a legend and they'll never catch me."

"They'll catch you." I whispered, turning to face Edward again. "My father will never let you escape. He'll track you down, no matter how far you run, no matter where you hide."

The gun was back against my forehead. "You have too much faith in your old man, Isabella." His eyes moved back to my classmates. "I'm taking Bella out of here now. If any of you tries anything…" he trailed off but lifted the gun in the air in a silent warning.

He turned and made his way toward the classroom door, dragging me behind him by my wrist.

As he opened the door and dragged me into the hallway, my stomach lurched at the sight of Mr. Molina, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Bile rose in my throat and if I had eaten breakfast that morning, I was sure I would have vomited. "He's unconscious from the blood loss. He'll recover."

"Where are the rest of the students and teachers?"

He continued dragging me toward the double doors of the school entrance. "Evacuated, probably. Or herded into their classrooms with the doors locked. Mr. Molina didn't follow school procedure for suspicious activity. It's his own fucking fault I shot him."

Edward stopped just short of walking out the doors and grabbed me roughly by the hair on the back of my head. He yanked my face close to his, until there were mere inches between us.

"Listen carefully, Isabella. We're going to walk out these doors and you are going to say and do whatever I tell you. If you don't, I will not _hesitate_ to hurt you. I won't kill you, but I can tell you that a gunshot in the arm or leg is _awfully_ painful. You cooperate with me and I promise you you'll get home in a few days. You'll be home in plenty of time for graduation and whatever fucking fantastic parties and dinners your parents will be throwing in your honor. Got it?"

I nodded silently.

"Good girl." He released my hair and wrapped his right arm tightly around my waist, turning me so I was facing forward. He pressed the gun to my temple with his left arm and then kicked the door open.

* * *

I could hear yelling and the pounding of footsteps and then Edward's voice rang out across the parking lot. "Don't come any fucking closer or I swear to God, I'll blow her brains out of her skull."

I looked up and my eyes met the horrified gazes of my father and twenty of Forks' finest officers.

"Dad!" I whimpered.

Edward dug the gun into my face a little harder. "Shut up." he hissed into my ear.

Charlie took a step forward, his gun trained on Edward. "Let her go, son. You don't need to do this. Let her go, drop the gun and we can talk."

Edward tightened his arm around me and I gasped as it dug painfully into my ribs. "I'm not letting her go anywhere. I'm crazy, not fucking stupid."

"You're Edward Cullen, right?" I recognized Fred Hartley, one of my dad's friends and fellow policemen, as he stepped toward Edward cautiously.

"Back the fuck up or I'll kill her right now."

Fred froze in place, shooting an anxious look at my father. "Listen, we need to know if you hurt anyone in there."

"Tell them who I hurt, Isabella." Edward murmured in my ear.

"H-he shot Mr. Molina, the biology teacher. He shot him in the stomach, but I think he's okay. And he shot Ben Cheney in the leg when he tried to help me."

Charlie and Fred exchanged glances and then Charlie nodded. Fred retreated back towards the small circle of police cars, to radio for an ambulance, I assumed.

"Listen, Edward. I want you to put the gun down and step away from my daughter, okay? She's an innocent girl, she shouldn't be hurt to try to prove whatever point it is that you're trying to prove."

"No, _you _fucking listen to _me_. I'm taking your daughter with me. If you follow me, I will shoot her. Let me go and I promise she'll be returned to you safe and sound."

"I can't trust you, Edward. You know that. Are you off your medication, son? I can call your parents and…"

Edward's arm lifted and he fired a single shot into the air. I let out a muffled scream and Edward's hold on me tightened.

"You shut the fuck up!" he roared at my father. I shuddered and clenched my eyes shut.

"Put your fucking gun on the ground and go stand by Barney Fife over there. Now."

Charlie hesitated and Edward's mouth was at my ear again. "Tell him to do it."

I swallowed and opened my eyes. "Dad, he's serious. Do what he says. Please!"

Conflicting emotions flickered across Charlie's face. After a moment, he bent down and placed his gun on the ground. He walked slowly over to where Fred and the other policemen were standing, his hands clenched into fists.

"Thanks for being so cooperative, Chief." I could hear Edward's smirk and watched as Charlie's mouth twitched in anger.

"We'll be going now. Remember, if you follow us, I won't hesitate to use this gun."

Edward stepped us forward until we were on the black asphalt of the parking lot, then turned so he could back towards his car while keeping his eyes trained on the police.

It only took a moment to reach the car and Edward shoved me roughly into the passenger seat as he slid behind the wheel.

It took me a second to realize that this wasn't Edward's usual car. His parents had bought him a silver Volvo for his eighteenth birthday, something for which many students had mocked him. Most kids got Hybrids or Audis. Edward got a car renowned for its safety. But this, a beat-up old green pickup truck, was most certainly not a Volvo.

"Whose car is this?"

He spared me a brief glance before reversing out of the parking spot so fast I nearly hit the dashboard.

"Mine. Now be quiet."

He sped out of the parking lot, past Charlie and the rest of the policemen and onto the main road.

"Where are we going?"

"I said shut the fuck up, Isabella. I meant it." His fingers tightened around the gun resting on his right thigh and I swallowed.

I had chosen to trust Edward, to believe him when he said that he wouldn't kill me. But he _was_ crazy and he _did_ still have a gun. I wondered how I could have been so stupid.

Then I closed my eyes and offered up a silent prayer to whoever might be listening. _Please, don't let me die._

When I opened my eyes again, Edward was pulling the truck onto the highway.

We were speeding away from Forks, away from Charlie and away from any remaining sense of safety I still had.

I was fucking terrified.

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**_Thoughts?  
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**_Drop me a review, or Tweet me at Trepidant ._**

**_Also, I've posted links on my profile for Bella and Edward's outfits for this chapter. It helps me to visualize better to know what the characters are wearing. _**

**_If that's not your cup of tea or you think it will detract from the story, no hard feelings. I'm having a lot of fun putting the outfits together, though._**

**_Updates will hopefully be weekly and will most likely be on Saturdays or Sundays because I work six days a week._**

**_(Also, for anyone who didn't get the Barney Fife reference, he was a character on an old TV show called 'The Andy Griffith Show'. He was a bumbling, small-town deputy.)  
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	3. Chapter 3

**_Thanks so much for all the great reviews! _**

**_I hope you all enjoy this update._**

**_More at the bottom!  
_**

**_Disclaimer:_****_ I don't own it. Don't sue me._**

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We drove in silence for over an hour.

I passed the time by staring down at my hands in my lap.

Finally, Edward seemed unable to take the silence any longer. "What kind of music do you like? Aside from _30 Seconds to Mars_, of course."

My head whipped around to face him. "How did you know that?"

He smirked and glanced over at me. "You're wearing a _30 Seconds to Mars_ shirt, Isabella."

"Why do you call me Isabella? I like being called Bella."

"Maybe I just like pissing you off, or maybe I think that Isabella fits you better. It's more elegant."

I snorted. "Me? Elegant? You really are crazy. I can't walk across a flat surface without tripping."

Edward frowned and I realized that while my statement was accurate, calling the deranged guy with the gun 'crazy' might not have been a smart idea.

But he just scratched his neck and then looked over at me again. "I know you're clumsy. I remember your first day at school, you slipped and slid down an entire flight of stairs on your ass."

I flushed. "How the hell do you remember that?"

Edward didn't answer, so I went back to staring at my hands.

After a few more minutes of silence, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "Rock."

He raised an eyebrow, not looking away from the road. "Rock what?"

"I like rock music. U2, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters…" I trailed off, staring out the window. "Where are you taking me?"

"I told you not to ask questions."

I bit my lip. "Are you really going to let me go?"

Edward was quiet for a minute and I watched his lips press into a thin line. "Eventually."

My heart began to sink. "But not in a few days, like you said. Not in time for graduation."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel, drawing my attention to the fact that he was no longer clutching the gun. "No. Not in time for graduation."

I glanced over at the door. It was unlocked. My heart pounded in my chest as I wiped my sweaty palm on my jeans.

Taking one last look to check that his eyes were focused on the road, I pulled the door handle and threw myself out of the moving truck.

Edward was going about fifty-six miles per hour and the asphalt was not forgiving.

I hit hard, my shoulder, knees and hands taking the brunt of the fall. I struggled to my feet and cried out as my knee gave out.

I pulled myself to my feet and began limping as fast as I could towards the trees along the side of the road.

I heard the pounding of footsteps behind me and tried to move faster, but I couldn't.

I fell to the ground as the tears began trickling down my cheeks.

"That was a fucking stupid move, Isabella." He yanked me to my feet and I gasped in pain.

His furious green eyes bore into mine. "What's wrong?"

"My knee." I gasped. "I hurt my knee."

"Fucking serves you right." He huffed in annoyance and then bent down and lifted me into his arms.

If I hadn't been in so much pain I might have put up more of a fight, smacked at his chest or tried to punch him or something.

But my knee was killing me and I didn't have the strength to fight. So I let him carry me back to the car and deposit me in the passenger seat again.

"Looks a lot easier in the movies, doesn't it? In real life, throwing yourself out of a moving car is insanely stupid." He reached behind the passenger seat and grabbed a black backpack.

He unzipped it and reached inside, feeling around for something which he eventually found. My eyes widened as he pulled out two lengths of rope.

"I didn't want to have to do this, Isabella. I thought I could trust you to be good, but you just proved me wrong."

He tied my wrists together tightly, then my ankles. "Keep your hands in your lap while we're driving. The last thing I need is for some nosy truck driver to call the cops on me."

He slipped a finger between my wrist and the rope. "Is that too tight? Is it hurting you?"

My mouth opened and closed once in surprise. "Uh, no. It's okay."

With that he shoved the backpack behind the seat again and slammed my door.

The man was an enigma, for sure.

He walked around to the driver's side and slid in behind the wheel and soon, we were moving again.

* * *

We drove in silence for a while until I finally sighed and turned toward him. "Why me? I know you said it's because I'm Charlie's daughter, but they would do the same thing for any of the other kids in that school. You could've taken Mike Newton as your hostage."

Edward smirked over at me before turning his attention back to the road. "You're kidding, right? I couldn't take two minutes in a car with Newton. All that guy does is bitch and moan about his life and his parents and how none of the girls in the school will pay attention to him. Especially you."

My mouth fell open. "Me? Mike likes _me_?"

Edward frowned over at me. "That surprises you? The guy's been mooning over you since your first day at Forks High. He introduced himself and then two hours later he said goodbye to you and you said 'Bye, Matt.' You crushed the guy. He's been trying to get your attention ever since."

"How do you know that?"

"He was my lab partner in biology for two years, Isabella."

I frowned and tried to wriggle my wrists into a position that chafed them a little less. "Well I never knew that he liked me."

"Would it have made a difference? Would you have gone out with him if you had known?"

I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. "I don't know, Edward. Maybe, maybe not. Mike isn't really my type."

Silence fell over the car again until Edward broke it. "You're bleeding."

I cracked one eye open. "Huh?"

"Your shoulder, your knees…The blood soaked through your clothes."

I frowned down at my clothing. "Damn it. This was my favorite shirt."

Edward pulled off onto an exit ramp leading to a rest stop.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting something to clean you up. The last thing I need is for you to get some fucking infection or something."

As we approached the rest stop, he pulled off to the side of the road and leaned across to untie me. "Be good, Isabella. I mean it."

With that, he pulled his grey hoodie over his head and handed it to me.

"Put this on. It'll cover the blood on your shirt, at least. I don't need people asking questions."

I sighed and mock saluted him before pulling the sweatshirt over my head. It was huge on me, but it was warm and smelled of Edward's cologne. It wasn't unpleasant. I stopped short of burying my nose in the collar.

He drove up to the gas station and got out of the truck. He crossed to my side and opened my door.

I stepped out gingerly, cringing when I put weight on my sore knee. I knew it wasn't sprained, but there would be significant bruising and it still hurt like a bitch.

Edward grabbed my hand in his much larger one and I tried to pull away. "Don't start, Isabella. I need to make sure you don't do anything foolish."

He grasped my hand again and I followed him grudgingly into the gas station.

A high-pitched beep sounded as we passed through the door and a grizzled old man nodded to us from behind the counter.

Edward pulled me along behind him as he quickly located the aisle that housed First Aid supplies.

He handed me a bottle of peroxide and a roll of gauze and used his free hand to grab a box of large band aids and an all-purpose First Aid kit. He started to lead me toward the counter and as we passed the displays of potato chips and pretzels, my stomach twisted in hunger.

"Edward."He stopped in his tracks, seemingly startled to hear his name coming from my lips, and I nearly slammed into him.

"I'm starving."

He looked down at me through narrowed eyes.

"Oh, come on. How could I turn this into some kind of trick? Look, I didn't eat breakfast and you kid-" His grip tightened painfully on my hand and I gasped.

He shot a nervous glance towards the guy behind the counter who was looking at us curiously.

I frowned and then looked back to Edward's emerald green eyes. "We _left_ before lunch. Please. I'd offer to pay for it, but my wallet is in my backpack in the biology room."

He snorted and smirked down at me. "Isabella, money is not a problem."

His eyes softened minutely and he nodded. "Okay, pick something." I gave him a genuine smile and thrust the peroxide and gauze at him. He relinquished my hand, but I knew there would be no way I could escape. If I tried to run, he might pull out that gun and I couldn't risk the innocent gas station attendant getting hurt.

I grabbed a bag of sour cream and onion chips, checking the expiration date to make sure they weren't stale. Years of road trips with my nomadic mother had taught me that sometimes food would sit unpurchased at a gas station for months, even years depending on how far you were into the middle of nowhere.

I grabbed a package of beef jerky, a couple of protein bars and bag of mints and turned back to Edward.

He raised an eyebrow at my unusual choices and then gave me a crooked little half-smile that almost made me forget for a second that I hated him. "What, no drink?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and marched over to the refrigerated section. I yanked the door to one of the coolers open, grabbed a bottle of water and made my way back to where he stood. "I'm ready."

He nodded and we walked up to the counter, placing our purchases in front of the grumpy looking attendant.

"Anything else?"

Edward nodded his head towards the parking lot. "Can you put twenty-five dollars on pump number three?"

The man nodded and then shoved the two white plastic bags containing our purchases toward me. Edward took both bags before I could and grabbed my hand in his again.

"That'll be thirty-two dollars and fifty-four cents." the old man muttered.

Edward handed him a credit card and he swiped it before handing it back. After signing the receipt, Edward thanked the man and we left.

Edward opened the passenger door for me and handed me the bags before walking around to the driver's side and selecting a nozzle on the gas pump.

I ripped into the bag of potato chips and devoured almost the whole thing before Edward slid back inside the car.

"Slow down. You'll make yourself sick." He shot me a disgusted look and leaned across me to open the glove compartment. He pulled out a stack of napkins and handed them to me. "You're making a mess."

I frowned and wiped my face with one of the napkins. "Thanks."

He pulled the truck back onto the highway and started flipping absent-mindedly through the radio stations.

"Wasn't it kind of dumb to use a credit card? They'll be able to track your card."

He smirked over at me. "You don't think very highly of my intelligence, do you? It was a Visa gift card. I have about a thousand of them, all in different increments, purchased at various stores in the state of Washington by people other than me. You'd be surprised what some of the kids at our fine institute of learning will do for five bucks."

My heart flipped in fear.

Up to that point I'd been assuming that Edward really hadn't planned this whole thing out very well. I had been positive that the cops would catch up with us within a matter of hours and I would be sleeping in my own bed that night, safe and sound.

Now he was talking about all the pre-paid credit cards in his possession, he had filled the truck with enough gas to last us into Oregon, the gun was peeking out of the waistband of his jeans and I knew.

I wouldn't be going home any time soon.

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_**What did you think? Drop me a review, if you please. They make me grin like a moron.**_

_**30 Seconds to Mars is one of my favorite bands. **_

_**Their music is amazing and Jared Leto is just hot. I had the chance to see them about a month ago when they were here in Baltimore. It was about 110 degrees in the club (no joke, people were passing out) and I was pushed and shoved like crazy in the mosh pit. (I have pictures of the bruises to prove it.) But they put on one hell of a show!  
**_

_**Next update will be next Saturday or Sunday and the chapter will be a little longer than usual.  
**_

_**Review, or Tweet me at Trepidant**_

_**Love to you all.**_

_**P.S. The title of this story comes from a Brandon Flowers song. (He's the lead singer of The Killers, for those of you who don't know the name.)**_

_**His first solo album came out this week and it's fucking amazing. I highly encourage giving it a listen!  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**First of all, I apologize that this is late. I planned to update last Saturday or Sunday and that obviously did not happen.**_

_**I won't bore you with the details but I've had a lot of crap going on in my life the last few weeks and a great deal of it all came crashing in on me last week.**_

_**This would have been up yesterday but I had internet fail.  
**_

_**Regardless, I wanted to have this up sooner. My sincere apologies.  
**_

_**More at the bottom!**_

_**

* * *

**_

The sun had already set when Edward pulled into the parking lot of a dingy motel. I wasn't sure of the exact time because the truck's digital clock was broken.

He took my hand again as I hopped out of the truck and I wanted to tell him that it was unnecessary. We were in the middle of nowhere and it was dark, I wasn't stupid enough to try to run. But I kept my mouth shut and walked silently beside him. I was grateful that he never asked me to give him back his hoodie, because the night air was chilly.

We stepped into the dimly lit front office and the woman behind the counter looked up at us. "Hi. How are you?"

Edward smiled a little. "We're doing well, thanks. We'd like a room for the night, please."

She nodded. "One bed or two?"

I opened my mouth to say two, but Edward cut me off. "One."

I glared up at him, but he ignored me.

The woman tapped a few keys on an ancient-looking desktop computer. "Name?"

"Jim Hendricks."

I snorted and rolled my eyes and the woman behind the counter just calmly typed the fake information into the computer.

"Alright, Mr. Hendricks. That'll be thirty-seven dollars."

He handed her another card and she swiped it and handed it back. He signed the receipt with his fake name and she passed him a key. "Room four. Enjoy your stay."

The woman didn't even ask for any ID and I didn't want to think about what kind of illegal and illicit things happened at this motel.

Edward smiled his thanks and we left the office. We walked back to the truck so he could retrieve his backpack, then walked toward the outside stairs that led to the motel rooms. We found our room easily and he unlocked the door, pushing it open and pulling me in behind him. The room was pitch black and Edward released my hand in order to find the light switch. Once he found it and the lights clicked on, I frowned.

The room looked like something out of an episode of '**_Cheaters_**'. The carpet was stained and there was an odd smell that I couldn't place. I cringed at the thought of sleeping on the bed. I'd seen one too many news reports on improperly cleaned hotel rooms to even consider it. I had dozed off for a little while in the car, but not long enough to really be restful.

As I stood, staring at the bed and biting my lip, Edward walked up behind me and grabbed my right wrist.

"What the hell, Edward?"

He held up a pair of handcuffs. "I have to go get some things for the rest of our trip and I can't trust you to stay here in the room. I'm only going to cuff one wrist."

He clicked the cuff around my wrist, then pulled me forward toward the bed. "Sit down."

"This is completely unnecessary. Why can't I go with you?"

"Because I said so." He clicked the other cuff around part of the headboard and made sure it was secure before backing up a step to look at me.

I frowned up at him and he grinned. "You're cute when you're pissed. Be good. If you try to scream, they'll just think I'm fucking you senseless in here."

My mouth fell open and he winked at me.

He picked up the remote control for the TV and flipped on a station that was playing old gameshow reruns. "There. I'll be back soon."

He grabbed the key and his backpack and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

I huffed, looking around the room with disdain. My stomach growled and I looked longingly at the plastic bag sitting on the floor by the door of the motel room. There was no way I could reach it from here. I looked down at the wrist that was cuffed to the headboard.

I gave a rough, experimental tug of my wrist and cried out as the metal of the handcuffs bit into the tender skin. There was no way I was getting out of the cuffs.

I bit my lip and sighed, looking over at the TV. Great, _**Wheel of Fortune**.

* * *

_

Edward returned about an hour later, his hands full of plastic bags with **_Wal Mart_** emblazoned across them.

"Oh, you're still here." His grin was infuriating.

"You better have brought me some food, asshole. Unless you want to be dragging my corpse across the country with you, I'm going to need something besides potato chips."

He cocked an eyebrow at me and frowned. "Asshole, huh? A little brazen, aren't we?" He sat his backpack down beside a tattered, overstuffed chair in the corner of the room.

I swallowed. "Sorry. I get cranky when I'm hungry. Could you uncuff me now, please?"

He sat the plastic bags down on the bed and leaned down, placing one arm on either side of me. I leaned back and tried to put some distance between us, my heart beating faster.

"I don't know, Isabella. I think I like having you handcuffed to my bed."

I swallowed thickly, a tremor of fear running down my spine. "Please. Don't…don't hurt me."

His eyes flashed and his hand came up to cup my chin. I flinched when he touched my face and he dropped his hand immediately.

"I would never do that. Never. I might be crazy, but I'm not a monster. How could you think I would… that I'm the kind of person who could…" he trailed off and I looked up at him.

"I don't know anything about you. I don't know what kind of person you are. All I know is that you're apparently crazy, you've tried to kill yourself before, you shot our biology teacher and my best friend's boyfriend and you kidnapped me. I don't know what you have planned for me."

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his index finger. "Never, Isabella. I would never."

I bit my lip. "Okay." I whispered.

He stared at me for one long moment, then looked down at the carpet. He fumbled in the pocket of his blue jeans for a second before producing a silver key. He took my cuffed wrist in his large hands and unlocked the handcuffs.

I rubbed at my wrist, wincing.

"What's wrong?"

He turned my wrist toward him, examining it carefully. An angry red cut was visible where the cuff had dug into my wrist when I had pulled on it. "I see you weren't content with watching **_Wheel of Fortune_**."

I didn't meet his gaze.

"You're stubborn. That's something I didn't know about you."

I snorted. "You know nothing about me."

He slid the handcuffs into his pocket and sat down beside me on the bed. "You don't eat lunch on meatloaf day at the cafeteria. You always ask the lunch lady for extra napkins because you're a messy eater. You hide behind your hair when you're nervous or embarrassed. You've used the same green pen since you started at Forks High. It has teeth marks on the top of it from where you bite it during a quiz. You find Mrs. Goff to be repulsive because she needs to pluck her eyebrows. You refuse to wear Converse because everyone else wears them. You wear Macbeths. Your hair has natural red highlights in it, but you can't see them unless you're in the sun. You'd rather have a mint than a piece of chocolate. You hate kids because they're messy and loud. _And,_ you have a tattoo."

My mouth dangled open in surprise. "How…what…"

He smiled at me and looked almost sheepish. "I like watching you. You fascinate me."

I blinked rapidly. _No one_ knew I had a tattoo. I had used a fake ID to get it and hadn't told a soul about it.

"Emmett, the guy who did your tattoo, is my brother. He couldn't wait to tell us all about tattooing Chief Swan's daughter." His smiled faded a little. "He wouldn't say what it was, though."

"So you _don't_ know everything about me." I stood up and gestured to the bags beside him. "What did you get?"

He tilted his head to one side and smiled sadly. "A few things for you, a few things for me. I'm going to miss your hair…"

My eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?" I took a step backwards and he rummaged in the bag next to him for a moment before holding up two boxes of hair dye.

"We need to change your hair color. You're eighteen so they can't issue an Amber Alert for you, but they'll be looking for you none the less. We need to make it a little bit more difficult for anyone to recognize you."

I eyed the color on the box in shock. "But…"

He stood up, straightening to his full height and frowned down at me. "This isn't up for discussion, Isabella."

He turned back to the bags and pulled out a white tank top and a pair of black shorts. "I figured you could sleep in these. They'll be far more comfortable than your jeans. I got you some other clothes too, but we'll save those for tomorrow. Why don't you go change? When you're done I'll clean up your cuts and then I'll help you with dyeing your hair."

I wanted to argue with him, to tell him there was no way I was dyeing my hair and that he could take his new clothes and shove them up his ass. But I was exhausted , both physically and mentally from the day's events.

So I didn't argue. I kicked off my shoes, took the clothes from him and went into the tiny bathroom, closing the door behind me.

The first thing I did was go to the bathroom. I hadn't had much to drink over the course of the day, but I'd been afraid to ask Edward to stop again when I had to use the restroom, so I'd held it.

Finishing up, I washed my hands and then caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I cringed. My hair was tangled from running my fingers through it out of nervousness and the little bit of eye makeup I usually wore was smeared underneath my eyes from crying.

I unwrapped the bar of soap on the sink and used it to wash my face. The smeared makeup gone, I combed my fingers through my hair, wincing when they caught on a knot. I eyed the shower longingly, but I knew my hair needed to be dry when Edward dyed it.

I unbuttoned my jeans and yanked them off, groaning when I saw the severity of the bruising on my knees. I folded the jeans and sat them on the edge of the sink. I pulled on the shorts Edward had given me and then yanked off my t-shirt. The blood from my shoulder had drenched the sleeve of the shirt and dried into an ugly brown stain.I knew I wouldn't be able to wear it anymore, so I balled it up tossed it into the trash can next to the toilet.

I pulled the white tank top on over my bra and gave myself one last look in the mirror before opening the door. Edward was sitting on the bed, the first aid supplies he'd purchased spread out in front of him.

He looked up when I opened the door and a look I didn't recognize flitted across his face. His eyes moved from my bare feet to the top of my head and then back down, lingering on my legs. It made me uncomfortable and I cleared my throat.

His eyes flashed to mine and then he looked back down at the first aid supplies. "Come here."

I did as I was told, sitting down beside him on the bed. He cracked open the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and poured a little of it onto a tissue before kneeling down in front of me.

The instant the alcohol-based disinfectant touched the open wound on my knee, I cried out in pain.

Edward's hand closed around my calf gently, holding my leg still. I whimpered as he swiped the tissue over the wound again.

"I'm sorry." he murmured and I wondered for what exactly he was apologizing.

A few more swipes of peroxide and he tossed the tissue into one of the empty shopping bags on the bed. He smeared a little antibiotic cream over the wound and then peeled open one of the larger bandages from the first aid kit. He placed it carefully over the wound, smoothing its edges to make sure it would stick properly.

The other knee wasn't as badly skinned and so he stood up and moved on to my shoulder.

The silence that permeated the room was tense.

I cleared my throat softly and looked up at him as he bent over to clean the wound. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You're going to ask anyway, regardless of what I say. I've been telling you all day not to ask questions and you haven't listened."

I bit the inside of my cheek as the peroxide burned my shoulder.

"What's wrong with you? I mean, you said this morning in the classroom that you've been in mental institutions since you were five. You tried to kill yourself…Why?"

He tensed immediately, dropping the hand that had been cleaning my arm. "You're awfully fucking brave, little girl."

I swallowed thickly, afraid to meet his gaze.

"I don't want to talk about that yet." He smoothed a band aid over the wound and then gestured towards the bathroom. "Come on."

I followed him silently into the bathroom and watched as he mixed the hair dye according to the instructions in the box. I perched on the closed lid of the toilet and wrinkled my nose at the chemical smell of the dye.

He pulled on the plastic gloves that were included with the hair dye and then raised an eyebrow at me. "Ready?"

I shrugged my shoulders and lowered my head. He squirted some of the hair dye onto my head and began working it into my hair.

It was quiet for a while as Edward's long fingers worked the dye through my hair.

"Why Dartmouth? It's so far away…"

"Hmm." I responded. "You just answered your own question. It's far away from Forks and all those in it."

"But you and your dad are close."

"We are. But he knows I've never been happy in Forks and he supports my decision to make a fresh start."

"And what does your mom think about it?"

"My mom has barely paid me any mind since she got married. I don't think she gives a shit where I go to college."

"You sound bitter about that, Isabella."

"She was my best friend." I bit out. "We did everything together. We traveled the country together in her shitty old Chevy. Then she met _Phil_ and his money and she's been different ever since."

I wasn't sure why I was telling Edward all this. Probably because he was the first person to ever ask me about it. My dad knew I'd had a falling-out with my mother, but had never asked for details.

Edward tossed the two empty bottles of hair dye into the garbage can. "She sounds like a selfish person."

"He brings out the worst in her."

Edward frowned and removed the plastic gloves, throwing them away. He motioned towards the bathroom door. "I'm going to shower and change. The dye needs to set for twenty-five minutes anyway."

I nodded as he brushed past me to get one of the plastic shopping bags. I assumed he'd bought himself some new clothes, too.

He closed the bathroom door behind him and I sank down onto the edge of the mattress, my muscles aching from all they'd been through that day. I pawed through the first aid kit until I found some aspirin. Finding the bottle of water Edward had bought me at the gas station, I downed the aspirin and sighed.

Edward was out of the shower within twenty minutes, running a towel over his wet hair. His t-shirt clung to his skin, suggesting that he hadn't done a good job of drying himself off after emerging from the shower. I tried to ignore the way the shirt clung to his muscular physique, but it was difficult. Most guys my age were either obese or skinny and awkward. Edward looked like he worked out—a lot. Thinking back on it, I remembered feeling the way the muscles in his arms tightened around me as he carried me back to the truck after my failed escape attempt. When I felt my face growing warm, I stood up, needing a change of thoughts.

"I'm going to rinse this out of my hair…" He nodded and moved aside to allow me entrance into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, I called his name softly and he appeared in the bathroom doorway.

"What do you think?" I whispered as I watched his reflection in the mirror.

He came closer and stood right behind me, staring at my reflection in the mirror. "It's different, but you're still you. You're still beautiful."

I bit my lip and blinked at my reflection. "I've never been blonde before."

Edward nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "You look different. Older, even. I made a good choice with the color. You'll be hard to spot, Isabella."

"Great. That's exactly what I want to hear." I frowned at him and he shrugged.

I followed him out of the bathroom and he tossed me a small plastic package. "I bought a sheet to put over the bed. God only knows what kind of germs are on that thing."

I smiled slightly. "Oh, thank God."

I opened the package and spread the dark green sheet over the comforter. I looked back and forth between Edward and the bed, wondering if I should ask the question floating around in my head.

"I won't force you to share a bed with me, Isabella. I won't be sleeping much anyway, I need to make sure you don't go running off in the middle of the night. I'll be over here."

He sank into the chair near the door and I tried to make myself comfortable on the lumpy mattress.

I lay on my side, facing him so I could see what he was doing.

He pulled a battered old notebook out of his backpack and slid a pen out of the spine.

He began scribbling furiously in the book and if I had been more awake, I might have asked him what he was doing.

As it was, I'd had the day from hell and was so exhausted I couldn't keep my eyelids open.

I drifted off to sleep to the quiet scratching of Edward's pen.

* * *

**_Longest chapter yet. Thoughts?_**

**_I know their dialogue might seem a tad awkward, but that's because their relationship is awkward. Give it time, loves.  
_**

**_Link to Bella's outfit is on my profile._**

**_Pop culture references for those outside of the U.S. or those who simply don't know:_**

**_The name Edward uses at the motel, 'Jim Hendricks' is loosely taken from Jimi Hendrix, who is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of music.  
_**

**_ 'Cheaters' is a trashy television program where people hire private investigators to catch their partners cheating on them. They usually end with the significant other barging in on their cheating partner at a skeezy motel with a camera crew in tow. Lovely television. _**

**_'Wheel of Fortune' is a gameshow where contestants spin a giant wheel and try to solve word puzzles. My grandparents are big fans._**

**_If you don't know what Wal Mart is, Google it.  
_**

**_Macbeth is a clothing company started by Blink 182/Angels and Airwaves frontman Tom Delonge. They have awesome shoes. I own 4 pairs. Bella's Macbeths can be seen in the link I posted on my profile for her outfit from previous chapters._**

**_I would love you forever if you would take a moment to review. Each and every one makes me squeal!_**

**_Barring any more personal disasters, I should update this Saturday or Sunday.  
_**

**_Love to you all!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Oh dear._**

**_My deepest, most sincere apologies. _**

**_I fully intended to update last weekend, but this chapter was a bitch that I had to drag out kicking and screaming._**

**_Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I tried to update Sunday evening, but FFn was 'down for maintenance' that night and wouldn't even let me log in, much less update._**

**_Thank you to who sent me a PM to 'poke' me about updating. I had far from forgotten to update, but it motivates me to do so when I know that people are actually anticipating the next chapter. So thank you, dear. _**

_**And thank you to all of you who have reviewed. I love you to pieces! **_

**_

* * *

_**

I awoke the next morning and was momentarily confused by my surroundings.

It only took a moment for the previous day's events to come flooding back and when they did, I frowned.

I had slept fitfully, uncomfortable in the strange bed. I sat up and stretched my arms over my head, groaning as my back muscles cracked.

My head was foggy and I blinked lazily.

My gaze fell on the empty chair near the door and I raised an eyebrow when I saw that it was empty.

Just then, I noticed a muffled humming sound coming from the bathroom. The door was closed, so I assumed that was where Edward had gone.

The battered notebook he had been writing in the night before was sitting on the chair and I bit my lip as I stared at it. My legs itched to move me off of the bed and over to the chair, but I didn't budge. I was scared of what Edward would do if he emerged from the bathroom and caught me with his notebook.

I stood up and ran a hand through my hair, grimacing when I saw the blonde strands between my fingers. My new hair was something I would have to get used to.

The bathroom door opened and I turned to greet Edward.

My mouth fell open. "You…Your hair…"

Edward had given himself a buzz cut.

When I had first started at Forks High, I overheard Jessica and Lauren talking about Edward one day.

I had ducked into the bathroom to wash my hands and they were standing in front of the mirrors touching up their makeup.

_"God, I'd just like to grip that hair in my fingers while I ride his giant…"_

"_Oh shut the fuck up, Jess. If anyone's going to ride Edward and tangle their fingers in his hair, it's going to be me." _

I hadn't paid Edward's hair that much attention before that, but when I saw him in biology class that day, I had stared at him for a full minute. It _was_ nice hair.

And now that nice hair was gone, replaced by a haircut that wouldn't look out of place in the military.

"Why did you do that?"

"My hair is too recognizable. Did you sleep well?"

I shrugged. "As well as can be expected, I guess."

He nodded and then jerked his head towards the bathroom. "If you want to shower, do it now. I want to be on the road by eight."

He walked over to where he had dropped the _Wal Mart_ bags the night before and picked one of them up, handing it to me. "I got you some clothes."

The bag was heavy and I wondered how many sets of clothing he had purchased for me.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

I closed and locked the bathroom door behind me and peered into the bag.

I pulled out a toothbrush first, clutching it to my chest gratefully. You don't realize how much you take brushing your teeth for granted until you can't.

I flushed when I pulled a package of underwear out of the bag. They were cotton, various colored boy-shorts and I was glad Edward hadn't purchased me anything racy.

I pulled out a light grey, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black jeans and checked the sizes. _Perfect fit. _ Of course.

Setting the bag aside, I stripped myself of my clothes and turned on the shower, waiting until the water was a comfortable temperature before stepping under the spray.

My mind whirled as I shampooed my hair.

Where was Edward taking me?

How long would he keep me?

Why did he pick me?

He had dodged that question when I had asked him in the car, turning it into a discussion about Mike Newton's pining after me instead. It was clear from everything he had told me the day before that Edward had been watching me for some time.

But why? My life was far from interesting. There was nothing special or unique about me.

I hurried through my shower, remembering that Edward had told me he wanted to leave soon. The last thing I wanted was to have an angry Edward busting in on me in the shower.

I toweled off and pulled on my new clothes, wishing that I had a hair dryer. I twisted my damp hair into a knot at the base of my neck and sighed. It would have to do.

I shoved my pajamas into the bag Edward had given me and brushed my teeth quickly.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Edward had changed his clothes.

He was wearing a long-sleeved black and white plaid shirt and the same worn jeans he'd been wearing the day before.

His backpack and the remaining _Wal Mart_ bags were sitting by the door and he looked impatient. "Do you have all your stuff? We should get going."

I held up my _Wal Mart_ bag. "Yeah, I'm all ready."

He held up one finger and made his way over to all the bags by the door. He dug through one of the bags and then held up a large black purse.

"I figured this was large enough to carry your clothes. All girls carry purses, it will look suspicious if you don't." He held the bag out to me and I frowned as I took it.

The oversized purse thing was never my style. But I didn't want to start an argument, so I emptied the contents of my _Wal Mart_ bag into the purse and turned back to Edward.

He gave me an appraising look, from head to toe. "I did a good job picking out sizes." he mused.

I nodded. "How did you know what size I was?"

He made a move as if to run his fingers through his hair but stopped when he was met by the short length of his buzz cut. "You looked like you were about the same size as my sister."

"You have a sister?"

I had never heard anyone mention the Cullens having another child.

He nodded. "Alice. She's a year older than me."

"How come I've never heard about her?"

He picked up the bags and turned to frown at me. "Enough questions. Let's go."

Once we were in the car, Edward handed me a pair of sunglasses and slid a pair onto his own face. "Sunglasses on at all times."

I rolled my eyes and slid the sunglasses into place as he pulled the truck onto the highway.

* * *

Edward had purchased Pop Tarts and bottled juice for me the night before, so I snacked on them as we drove.

I didn't comment on the fact that he had purchased my favorite flavor of Pop Tarts. He probably knew from watching me at school, but it was still strange.

He had the radio tuned to some god-awful country station that was making my ears bleed and I wondered if he was trying to torture me.

Finally, unable to take any more of the music, I turned to face him.

"Can we play Twenty Questions?"

He smirked over at me and I found that I was unnerved by the fact that I couldn't see his eyes. Damn sunglasses.

"You love to try my patience, don't you? I tell you that you're not allowed to ask any questions and you propose we play a game that revolves around answering questions."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, well you get to find out more stuff about me, too. Which I'm sure you'll love, considering you're some kind of stalker or something."

I watched the way his fingers gripped the steering wheel and bit my lip.

"I'm not a stalker. I've never invaded your privacy. I just pay attention to you, that's all."

"Whatever. Can we play or not?"

"Fine, but we get to veto any questions we're uncomfortable with answering."

"Fine. I'll go first. Why me?"

"I answered that question yesterday."

"No you didn't. You danced around the question and tried to distract me by telling me that Mike liked me. Now answer the damn question."

He sighed, curling and uncurling his fingers around the steering wheel.

"You're not like the rest of the people in that town, Isabella. You're different, I could tell from the first day I saw you. You don't care what people think of you. You go out of your way to be nice to people. For God's sake, you brought the lunch lady a cupcake on her birthday."

"She always gave me an extra cookie for dessert." I mumbled.

"You work really hard for your grades. You don't spend your days mooning over boys and worrying about how your hair looks at every second of the day. I find you _fascinating_, Isabella."

I didn't know whether to be flattered or freaked out.

"I knew I was going to need a hostage and I knew that you were the only one I could endure spending time with for more than five minutes. I knew that if I threatened one of our classmates, you would try to stop me, as you did when I threatened Jessica. The fact that you were the daughter of the Chief of Police was just the icing on the cake, making for a much easier getaway."

I stared at him for a full minute before clearing my throat and looking down at my hands.

I wasn't sure what to do with any of the information he'd just given me.

"My turn. Why did you move from Arizona?"

I swallowed painfully and turned to face the window.

"My mom and I had a huge fight the summer before I moved to Forks. We used to go on all these road trips together, just the two of us. We had 'Date Nights' every Saturday. We would go out to dinner, see a movie, go bowling…After she married Phil, all of that stopped. She became so engrossed in him that our relationship started to crumble. I had nothing against her being married, I could tell she was happy. But it was like there wasn't room in her life for me anymore."

I swallowed again and pulled the sleeves of my shirt down over my hands.

"So one night, I went to my friend's house and I stayed out all night. It was my little rebellion, my way of sticking it to her or something. I marched in the front door the next morning and she wasn't even home. She'd left a note saying that she and Phil were off to some spa for the weekend, a romantic surprise he had sprung on her at the last second. When they got home, I screamed at her. I told her I hated her, that she didn't love me, that I hated Phil. She called me a self-centered brat. I stormed up to my room and called Charlie. He took my side, of course. Charlie always takes my side. Four weeks later, I was on a plane to Forks. My relationship with my mom hasn't been the same since. We barely talk now and when we do, it's through e-mail. She called me for my birthday this year, but I let it go to voicemail."

I reached up to swipe at a tear threatening to make its way down my cheek and suddenly Edward's hand was on my knee.

He gave it a light squeeze and ran his thumb along my kneecap once and then just let his hand rest there.

I didn't smack his hand away. I should have, but I didn't.

It was comforting.

"How about we just forget the rest of the questions? I'll find some decent music."His tone was soft.

I nodded my assent, unable to speak around the lump in my throat. I should have used my veto.

But I didn't, and something in the back of my mind told me that maybe it was because I needed to talk to _someone_ about my mother.

I yawned and leaned my head back against the headrest.

"You should sleep. I know you didn't get much last night, you kept kicking around on the bed and mumbling like you were having a bad dream."

I couldn't remember having had any dreams, but I flushed at the idea of talking in my sleep in front of Edward. "What did I say?"

"A lot of it was unintelligible. You said something about a gun, that your hair was too yellow…" he trailed off with a chuckle and I frowned.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I knew I was giving up a chance to learn more about Edward, but I was so exhausted from my night of fitful sleep and the steady motion of the car wasn't helping.

Edward tuned the radio to a classical music station and I smiled slightly. "Debussy."

"Clair de Lune was always my favorite."

I hummed my approval as I felt myself drifting off to sleep, still conscious of the warm pressure of Edward's hand on my knee.

* * *

I awoke a while later when Edward pulled off the highway. "I have to use the bathroom."

"So you _are_ human." I teased.

He flashed me a megawatt grin and I was struck once again by how attractive he was when he smiled.

I yawned and stretched my arms over my head as Edward parked the car at the gas pump.

He hopped out of the truck and made his way over to my side, waiting for me to get out.

He turned to walk into the gas station and I slipped my hand into his.

"Good girl." he murmured. "You can take your sunglasses off inside, just don't look directly at any of the security cameras. They're usually in the four corners of the store and behind the counter."

I nodded and we both removed our sunglasses as we stepped inside.

He paid for the gas and a bottle of water for each of us, then asked the gas station attendant for the key to the bathroom. I waited outside, scuffing my shoe against the old linoleum floor until Edward emerged.

"I'll wait here." He took the water from me and leaned against the wall next to the bathroom as I closed the door behind me.

The bathroom was filthy. The smell of urine was almost overpowering and the trashcan had surpassed overflowing long ago.

I covered the toilet seat in paper towels and held my breath so I wouldn't vomit at the stench.

As I washed my hands, I glanced at all the writing on the walls.

_Sheila eats dick. Call Brenda for a good time. Fuck you. God loves you._ I snorted.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I didn't have a pen or lipstick with which to write, but if I dipped my finger in soap and wrote on the mirror, I could leave a message that someone would hopefully find within the next few hours.

I smeared my finger in soap and proceeded to write.

I had to stop multiple times to reapply soap to my finger, but when I was done I felt like patting myself on the back for my genius idea.

**ISABELLA SWAN. KIDNAPPED. FORKS WASHINGTON. LP NUMBER: 3RT 2Y9. HELP ME.**

I washed the remaining soap off of my hands and exited the bathroom.

Edward was still leaning against the wall and when I emerged, he narrowed his eyes at me. "You were in there for a long time."

I swallowed nervously. "Sorry, it's disgusting in there. I didn't want to touch anything."

He pursed his lips as I cast a nervous glance over my shoulder at the bathroom door. His eyes followed mine.

"Let's go." I grabbed his hand again and moved towards the door, but he yanked me back.

"What did you do?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You were in there a long time. You seem _eager_ to get back on the road and you keep biting your lip."

I cursed my nervous habit.

He pulled me back to the bathroom and opened the door. My heart was in my throat as he flicked on the light.

He yanked me inside the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"You conniving little bitch." he hissed. "What, do I have to go in the bathroom with you now too? Did you leave a surprise back at the motel, too?"

"No." I whispered.

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "I was stupid to trust you. I thought we'd made some headway in this relationship."

"What relationship? You kidnapped me! You expect me to _like_ you? To accompany you freely to God-knows-where so you can do God-knows-what to me?"

He shoved me back against the wall, clamping his hand over my mouth. "Lower your fucking voice. You are _not_ going to escape, Isabella. Why don't you save us both a lot of time and annoyance and stop trying?"

His emerald green eyes were blazing with anger and I was reminded of the fact that he had a gun. He had told me he wouldn't hurt me, but there was no way for me to know for sure that he was telling the truth.

His eyes softened and his posture relaxed a little. He sighed heavily and lowered his head to rest against my collarbone.

"Why must you make this so difficult, Isabella? It could be _so_ easy."

He raised his head and his eyes bore into mine until I felt uncomfortable and looked down at the ground.

He moved away from me, over to the mirror. He wet a paper towel under the faucet and wiped my message off of the mirror.

"Smart idea to memorize the license plate number."

"Cop's daughter." I mumbled.

Once my cry for help was nothing but a few white smears on the mirror, Edward tossed the paper towels away and grabbed my hand.

He towed me steadily behind him as we exited the gas station. He opened the passenger door and I climbed inside, sliding my sunglasses into place.

He filled the gas tank and then we were on the road again.

As we drove, I resolved that no matter what it took, I would escape.

* * *

_**This weekend is a busy one for me, so I won't make any promises of updating.  
**_

_**However, I have a good chunk of the next chapter written already, so it's possible that I could update if I get a little free time.**_

_**We'll see!**_

_**Thanks so much for the reviews. They seriously make my day! I read and treasure every single one of them.**_

_**Links to outfits are on my profile. **_

_**Until next time...**_

_**Love to you all!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I suck. I royally suck. I am so, so sorry for my epic update failure. **_

_**Real life blows and though I have no control over that, I'm sorry that I didn't update. **_

_**Trust me when I say that I would much rather be writing than working.**_

_**That said, things are about to get interesting, folks.

* * *

**_

When the sun had set, Edward pulled off the highway to find us a motel.

He drove around until he found one that seemed to be the least crowded and then parked the truck.

I stayed quiet while Edward checked us in for the night, twisting my hand out of his as soon as we were out of the clerk's sight.

He unlocked the door and we entered the room.

I flipped the lights on and Edward closed the door behind us.

I sank down onto the bed and sighed heavily as I toed off my shoes.

My stomach growled noisily and I flushed in embarrassment as Edward smirked. "Hungry?"

I nodded. "Protein bars and Pop Tarts are great, but they're not all that satisfying."

Edward scratched the back of his head. "How about Chinese food?"

I shrugged my shoulders and nodded.

He picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed information. "I need the number for a Chinese food restaurant that will deliver to the Motel 6 on Byron Avenue, just off the I-5."

He scribbled down the number the operator gave him and hung up the phone. "What do you want?"

I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes. "Sweet and sour chicken and an egg roll."

I heard him pressing the buttons on the phone and then placing the food order. He hung up the phone and it was quiet for a few moments.

I cracked open one eye to find him staring down at me intently. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just a rare occasion when you're quiet."

"I'm thinking."

"About what?"

"None of your business."

He smirked down at me. "Probably planning your next escape attempt, hmm?"

I closed my eyes again and huffed. "Like I would tell you if I was."

He chuckled and I felt the bed dip as he sat down beside me.

My eyes fluttered open when I felt the warmth of his fingertips through the sleeve of my shirt. "How are your scrapes?"

"Fine, I guess. I haven't looked at them, but they're not stinging as badly as they were."

He hummed in acknowledgement of my response and then was quiet.

I wondered if he was exhausted. He couldn't have had much sleep the night before.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

I sat up and looked down at him. "You're taking me to Canada, aren't you?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line and then opened his eyes. "Yes, I am."

I tucked my legs under me on the bed. "They're not going to let me in, you know. I don't have a passport."

I smirked at him triumphantly.

"Silly girl, don't you think I thought about that?"

I cocked my head to one side. "What do you…"

He held up one finger. "No questions. If you're planning on showering, I would do it tonight. I want to get on the road early tomorrow. The lines at the border will be shorter the earlier we get there."

I opened my mouth to protest and he raised one eyebrow. "Isabella, I have a migraine. Your incessant bitching is pushing you towards Jessica Stanley's level of annoying-ness. Do me a favor and shut the fuck up?"

I gaped at him for a moment and then stood up. I grabbed my bag angrily and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

I sank down onto the edge of the bathtub and ground my teeth.

I had a right to be pissed. I had a right to ask questions. How dare he tell me to shut up?

I stood and walked over to the bathroom door, jerking it open sharply.

"FUCK YOU!" I shouted.

Edward sat up and turned to face me, startled.

I slammed the door again before he could respond and stripped myself of my clothes.

I turned on the shower as hot as I could bear it and stepped under the spray.

I washed my hair quickly, my fingers digging into my scalp with the tension coursing through my veins. I scrubbed at my body vigorously, wincing when I scrubbed across my scratches and scrapes.

By the time the water started to run cold, I had calmed down a bit.

I turned off the shower and took a few deep breaths.

The situation was unorthodox, for certain.

Under different circumstances, I could see myself getting along with Edward.

He was intelligent, had a good sense of humor…_Gorgeous_ my brain offered.

I frowned. _Not helping._

I knew that if I continued in the manner in which I was behaving, my time with Edward would be miserable.

It would be full of failed escape attempts, verbal sparring, sleepless nights and headaches.

I could make him drag me kicking and screaming, or I could go quietly and pray that he would actually let me go like he had promised.

I knew that the latter would make both of our lives much easier, but I wasn't sure I could do it.

What if he was lying? What if he never let me go? After all, why was he taking me with him?

He could have dumped me at one of the gas stations outside of Forks and driven off into the sunset.

I didn't buy his excuse that I was his assurance of escape. If he kept me with him, they would continue to chase him like a pack of wolves.

If he let me go, they'd still chase him, but his chance of escaping was far greater.

So what exactly was Edward planning on doing to me, in Canada no less?

I stepped out of the tub and toweled off, avoiding my scrapes carefully.

I pulled on my shorts and tank top and brushed out my hair. I glanced in the mirror and frowned. I would have killed for a little makeup, but I figured Edward wasn't exactly thinking about eyeliner and foundation when he was shopping for me.

I hung my wet towel over the edge of the sink and opened the bathroom door.

Edward was sprawled out over the bed, his long legs almost hanging over the edge.

His mouth was parted in sleep, his arm slung above his head. He looked _peaceful_.

I was surprised to find a smile threatening to spread across my face.

He looked cute in his sleep, almost boyish.

I stood in the bathroom doorway, twisting a lock of hair around my finger.

Edward snorted softly in his sleep and I bit back a grin.

A sudden, loud knock on the door caused my heart to slam in my chest and Edward to sit straight up in bed.

He leapt off of the bed and grabbed the gun off of the nightstand where it had been resting. He shoved it into the waistband of his jeans and kept one hand behind his back so it was within easy reach.

"Isabella, go sit on the bed and keep your mouth shut."

I glared at his demanding tone, but did as I was told.

He opened the door and though his frame blocked my view of the door, I could tell when his shoulders relaxed that it was only the delivery man with our Chinese food.

Edward paid the man and then closed the door behind him.

The smell of the greasy food wafted through the room and my stomach twisted in hunger.

He held up the brown paper bag with a grin. "Dinner is served."

* * *

When I had eaten until I felt as if I would get sick, I flopped back onto the bed, clutching my stomach.

"Ugh. I think I just gained ten pounds."

Edward chuckled. "You could stand to gain a little weight."

I raised myself up onto my elbows, cocking an eyebrow at him. "No thanks."

He gathered our empty containers and shoved them back into the paper bag.

I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, my full stomach making me feel drowsy.

* * *

I awoke a little while later and before I opened my eyes, I heard soft voices.

My eyes fluttered open and fell upon Edward and two men I didn't know.

They were all standing with their backs to me, hunched over the small table in the corner of the room.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Edward?"

Three heads whipped around to face me.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

The two men I didn't know were openly staring at me and I felt self-conscious about the fact that I was sitting there in only a tank top and shorts.

Edward walked over to the bed and held out his hand for me.

I took it hesitantly and he pulled me up off the bed.

One of the men was tall, with wavy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He was thin, but his t-shirt was tight enough that I could tell that he was well-built.

The other man was shorter, with spikey black hair and eyes that were so dark they almost looked black. His arms were so big, they looked like they were about to split the sleeves of his shirt. He grinned, revealing a set of perfect white teeth.

"So, this is the girl, huh Cullen?"

The blonde guy nudged the muscular guy.

"This is Isabella Swan. Isabella, this is Jasper Hale and Jacob Black."

I waved awkwardly.

I looked past them to the table around which they had been gathered. There was a machine of some sort that was plugged into the wall and stacks of paper spread out across the table.

A large, professional-looking camera was sitting on the edge of the table and I frowned.

"What's going on?"

"Jasper and Jake are here to help us. Jasper's going to take your picture and then he's going to use that machine to make you a fake passport. Jake is going to keep an eye on you while I get some sleep."

Jake winked at me and Edward cleared his throat.

"_And, _Jake is going to be a gentleman, or I will kick his ass."

Jake grinned sheepishly and Jasper chuckled.

He motioned me over to the table and I made my way over to him slowly.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, darlin'. Just stand against the wall over there and I'm going to take your picture."

His smile was charming and I felt myself blush when he pressed his palm against the small of my back.

I stood against the faded yellow wall and Jasper snapped my picture with his camera. "Perfect. You take a pretty picture."

I blushed again and I noticed Edward watching us from his spot on the bed.

"Lay off the charming southern gentleman act, Jasper."

Jasper chuckled softly. "Yes sir."

He connected the camera to a laptop I hadn't noticed before and began clicking away.

I sat down in a chair and tucked my legs underneath of me.

Jake sauntered over and pulled up a chair beside me. "So you must be something special."

"I'm sorry?"

"Cullen is going through a whole lot of trouble for you. You must be something damn special."

I frowned and ran a hand through my hair. "Yeah, well your guess is as good as mine."

I glanced over at Edward to find him fast asleep.

I decided that I should take advantage of the situation and leaned into Jake a bit, batting my eyelashes.

"So what can you tell me about Edward?"

"What do you want to know?"

"What's wrong with him?"

Jake's eyes clouded. "That's a loaded question."

* * *

_**I know it was short, but the chapter was getting too long with all the information I was trying to cram into it, so I ended it early.  
**_

_**The next chapter is written. I plan on editing it and posting either tomorrow or the day after.**_

_**Next chapter, we will learn quite a bit about Edward.**_

_**Thank you to all of you who have favorited and reviewed this story. I've been told that this story was recced on Twilighted and that is AWESOME.  
If you know who recced the story (or if you're the one who did the recommending), please let me know!**_

_**You guys are awesome and keep me writing, even when I'm so exhausted I just feel like falling into bed and sleeping the night away. **_

_**Love to you all!  
**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**I'm not even going to bother offering apologies, I know I suck. I could offer excuses, but I won't. **_

_**Instead, here's the update. ;)**_

_**(DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything except the plot. Stephenie Meyer owns the rest. Lucky bitch.)  
**_

_**

* * *

**_

I leaned in towards Jake a little, casting a brief glance at Jasper.

I wasn't sure how he would react to me fishing for information about Edward.

Jake seemed like a blabbermouth and I wanted to get as much information out of him as possible. "So, what's his deal?"

"Edward's a complicated guy. But I think it all started when his sister got sick."

"Alice? He mentioned her briefly. What do you mean she got sick?"

"Alice was diagnosed with leukemia when Edward was ten. He'd been in counseling since he was five when he started exhibiting 'violent behavior' with other kids. He punched a kid for stealing his crayons or some shit and his parents overreacted. Total bullshit, but they kept him in therapy. He didn't have any more incidents, but his parents thought it was doing him some good to talk to someone about his feelings. But when Allie got sick, Edward flipped the fuck out. I guess he thought he was going to lose his only sister. He started getting into fights in school. He tried to slit his wrists when he was fourteen, but his dad found him before he could bleed to death. They sent him to an institution for a month and then brought him home when they decided he wasn't crazy, just emotionally fucked up. After that, it seemed like he was getting better. His dad took him to see Allie every day and he started volunteering at the hospital. But it turned out that he was stealing pills. He tried to OD on his sixteenth birthday."

I clamped a hand over my mouth in shock.

"They put him in an institution for a while and then a miracle happened. Allie got better. She kicked leukemia's _ass, _and when she came home, she insisted her parents bring Edward home, too. So they did, and Edward seemed better. His grades were awesome, he started playing the guitar again…" Jake trailed off and looked down at his hands.

"And then Allie was visiting her aunt in California and she was killed in a car accident."

I gasped softly. "How long ago was that?"

"About six months ago. That's when Edward started missing a lot of school and stuff. His parents didn't know what to do. They took him to another psychiatrist and she put him on some kind of medication, but the shit made him act really strange. He was really paranoid, really tired all the time…"

My eyes darted over to Edward, but he still seemed to be sleeping.

"He tried to slit his wrists last month when his parents were out of town. Jasper and I found him. God, that was the scariest fucking night of my life. We didn't take him to the hospital. We knew he'd botched it, he didn't bleed enough. So we just bandaged him up and didn't tell his parents. We figured maybe his meds were off or something. Now I'm beginning to wonder if we did the right thing. There's an awful lot of shit going down because of what he did at your school."

"Why are you helping him take me? He's obviously mentally disturbed."

"To be honest, I'm afraid of what he'd do if we tried to stop him from taking you. He's…Edward talked about you a lot. He's got a soft spot for you."

"He needs help, Jake."

Jasper cleared his throat and I looked up like the kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Bella, I need some information from you. Your height, weight, date of birth…"

I nodded and stood up, making my way over to him. I gave Jasper all the information he needed and he typed it into the computer.

"So how do you two know Edward?" I ventured.

"Uh, we played on the same soccer team when we were twelve." Jasper muttered distractedly.

"And you guys stayed friends all this time, huh?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I don't want to be rude but I'm trying to concentrate…"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone."

He smiled and turned his eyes back to the screen.

I sighed heavily as I sank back into my chair beside Jake. I guessed I would have to drag any information I wanted out of the talkative one.

"You don't have to watch me, you know."

He flashed his megawatt smile. "Nice try, Bella. Edward told me not to let you out of my sight and the last thing I need is for him to be pissed at me. Just relax, watch some TV or something."

I frowned and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

"He's not such a bad guy, you know. Aside from the whole kidnapping thing, he's a pretty cool dude."

I snorted in a very unladylike manner. "Yeah, sure Jake. Look, I'm sorry but having a mental illness of some sort and your sister dying isn't an excuse for…"

I trailed off as Jake's smile faded and his eyes widened.

I swallowed thickly and turned in my seat to find Edward standing behind me.

His jaw tightened visibly and he balled his hands into fists. "Someone has a big fucking mouth."

Jake stood up and held his hands up in front of him. "Edward, look man…"

"You shut the fuck up, Black. Get out."

Jake opened his mouth to argue, but Edward's eyes blazed with anger and he took a step closer. "**Get**. **Out**."

"Edward." Jasper's soft voice startled me.

"Calm down. Breathe. Bella, take him outside for a minute, would you?"

"Me?"

Jasper's eyes were pleading. "Just until he cools off a little. Go."

I bit my lip and grabbed Edward's hand in my much smaller one. "Come on, Edward."

He followed me out of the motel room and I closed the door behind us. "He didn't tell me anything…" I started.

Edward's nostrils flared. "Don't lie. I heard him. That wasn't his story to tell, Isabella."

"Don't blame him, I asked him to tell me. It's my fault."

Edward snorted. "Don't defend him. He's scum, he always has been."

"I thought he was your friend."

"Jacob Black has never been my friend. He always tagged along with Jasper, so I dealt with him. But I never trusted him. I should have known better than to trust him to watch you. I knew he would either open his big, fat mouth or try to get into your pants."

Edward wrapped his hand around my waist, brushing his thumb along the waistband of my shorts.

I shifted uneasily, backing up a step until I was pressed against the wall.

I swallowed thickly as his hand slowly traveled up my side, brushing against the side of my breast.

"Edward…" It was meant to sound warning, but it came out in a breathy whisper.

"I wouldn't have let him put his hands on you. No one touches you. No one but me."

His hand moved to cradle my face gently in his palm. "My beautiful Isabella."

I flinched away from his touch. "Edward, you can't…You can't make me care about you. It doesn't work that way. You know that. You know it's impossible for me to return your feelings. Why don't you just let me go? I'll hitch a ride back to Forks with Jasper and Jake and you can go on to Canada."

"It's not impossible, Isabella. I've seen you the past few days, softening towards me. We have great conversations when you're not being a cranky bitch. And you can't tell me you're not attracted to me physically. Your body reacts to me. Even now, I can see your nipples hardening under your shirt."

I flushed bright red. I couldn't deny it, my shirt was thin and the night air wasn't that cold. His close proximity and the way he had touched me only a short time before were arousing.

He pushed his body flush against mine, his mouth at my ear. "You know, I think about you sometimes, when I'm touching my cock."

I trembled at his words. "Wh..what?"

He pulled back just far enough for me to see his face in the dim light. The ghost of a smile flickered over his features.

"I would watch you all the time at school. You never shunned me like the rest, Bella. You never mocked me or turned your back on me. You would sit at your desk with your nose buried in that god-awful Bronte book and chew on your lip…" At this, his thumb came up to graze gently across my lower lip.

"I think about your mouth a lot."

"Edward…"

His eyes flickered to mine. "Am I so hideous, Isabella? Could you never want me the way that I want you?"

"You're not hideous."

He snorted softly, his fingers sliding along my bare arm, igniting my skin in their wake. "I know. All the girls wanted me…They all wanted to be seen with me, to fuck me, to be marked as mine. Until I went 'crazy'. Then no one wanted anything to do with me. I guess I've showed them how _crazy_ I really am, haven't I?"

His tone was frightening, almost manic.

"Edward, calm down. Please."

"I won't hurt you, Isabella. I could never hurt you."

And with that, Edward pressed his mouth to mine.

His kiss was violent, all gnashing teeth and forceful tongue.

I held my hands at my sides, not kissing him back.

He pulled away after a moment, his eyes searching my face. "You don't know how long I've waited for you."

My heart wrenched in my chest.

This man, this **_boy _**was whole-heartedly in love with me.

Yes, he had kidnapped me.

Yes, he had shot one of my teachers and my best friend's boyfriend.

Yes, he had threatened my father.

Yes, he was holding me hostage.

But this beautiful, broken boy was laying all he had left at my feet.

His heart.

So when he pressed his lips to mine for a second time, I pushed back the voices in my head that were telling me I was a fucking idiot.

I pushed back the thought of what consequences my actions might bring.

I cleared my head and I let my heart do the thinking.

And I fucking kissed him back.

* * *

_***hides behind laptop screen* **_

_**Not gonna lie, I was scared to post this chapter.**_

_**I answered some questions, I posed some new ones.**_

_**More about Edward and his past will be revealed in due time.  
**_

_**Fear not, loves. I promise I know where I'm going with this. **_

_**I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter! Drop me a review? **_

_**I probably won't be able to update this week because of work / the holiday, but hopefully next week.**_

_**Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, it honestly means the world to me. **_

_**Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating this Thursday! **_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Blah blah blah, I was sick, yada yada yada. _**

**_But no, for reals... I was REALLY sick. Like, in the hospital with pneumonia. _**

**_I'm feeling a bit better, but I'm still recovering.  
_**

**_Thanks to those who PM'd, Tweeted, alerted and reviewed . I love you all.  


* * *

  
_**

Edward's body pressed against mine made it impossible for me to think.

His mouth was hot and soft against mine and his fingers were pressed so firmly into my hips, I was sure he would leave bruises.

His mouth moved to my neck and I almost stopped breathing altogether.

"Edward…" I panted. "Edward, stop. I can't think."

His teeth grazed my shoulder. "You're so fucking perfect. Do you know how many times I've thought about this? About kissing you, touching you?"

His tongue traced up the side of my neck, stopping just below my ear. I gasped and my head fell back against the wall with a soft thud, my eyes fluttering shut.

"Isabella. So fucking beautiful." he murmured against my neck.

His fingers drifted slowly under the hem of my shirt and his touch on my bare skin nearly set me ablaze.

My panting was so loud; I knew I should be embarrassed.

Edward's tongue traced the shell of my ear. "The things I want to do to you…"

The sound of the motel room door opening caused my eyes to fly open and I tried unsuccessfully to shove Edward away from me.

His hands wrapped around my waist, keeping me pinned between him and the wall.

I turned my head to see Jasper standing in the doorway. "Uh, the I.D.'s are finished, Edward."

I flushed crimson and ducked my head at the sight of Jasper's smirk.

Edward sighed and I lifted my eyes to his.

"Jasper, you have the world's shittiest timing." Edward gave my waist a final squeeze and released me, turning to go back into the motel room.

Jasper blocked his entrance. "Are you going to behave like an adult? Jake knows he fucked up, there's no reason to make things worse."

Edward frowned and then nodded. "Just tell that fucker to keep his mouth shut."

He pushed past Jasper and I clutched a hand to my chest, trying to calm my racing heart.

Jasper crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorframe. "Well now, this is an interesting development. You sure you know what you're doin', darlin'?"

"No." I whispered.

Jasper's smile fell a notch and he pulled the motel room door shut before he spoke.

"Be careful, Bella. I've only ever seen him look at one other person the way he looks at you, and she shared his DNA. He lost her; I don't think he'll survive if he loses you too."

"Why are you helping him?"

Jasper cleared his throat and scuffed his boot against the concrete.

"I loved Alice. Maybe even more than Edward loved her. She was a year older than me, but that didn't matter to her. We were two halves of the same person. I went to visit her every day at the hospital when she was sick. I stuck with her through all the chemo, her losing her hair, the constant nausea and vomiting…"

He shook his head once, as if that would clear a the difficult memories.

"Alice loved Edward more than anything. She always said he was brilliant, that he would do something amazing one day. After Alice got better, the three of us spent a lot of time together."

Jasper's eyes clouded with tears and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "The day she left to visit her aunt, I went to the airport with her to say goodbye. She made me promise that I would take care of Edward for her while she was gone. Then she kissed me, told me she loved me and waltzed off to the security line. I never saw her again."

His eyes lifted to mine. "I know it sounds cliché Bella, but keeping that promise I made to Alice, it's something I have to do. And that means that when Edward asks me for help, I have to help him."

I found it difficult to swallow around the lump in my throat.

"I think that Edward sees a lot of Alice in you, Bella. You're both strong, intelligent, free-spirited women. Coupled with his physical attraction to you…The boy is head-over-heels for you, darlin'. He's sick in the head, yes. But his heart is still there and right now, it's in your hands."

A single tear slid down my cheek.

_No pressure, Bella. You just hold the heart of a mentally unstable, temperamental, horny, beautiful, eighteen year old boy in your clammy little hands._

"So what am I supposed to do, Jasper? Stop fighting? Just let him do what he wants with me for the rest of my life? He _kidnapped_ me. There are people looking for me. My father is probably frantic at this point. I'm supposed to go to Dartmouth in the fall."

Jasper rubbed a hand over his face and then through his curly blonde hair. "I'm not telling you to stop fightin', Bella. I'm just telling you that maybe there's another option besides escaping."

My brow furrowed. "Like what?"

The motel room door swung open again and Edward stood, looking back and forth between Jasper and me. "What are you two doing out here?"

Jasper plastered on a smile and turned to face Edward. "Just talkin' about how we were practically neighbors when we were kids. Texas and Arizona aren't too far away from each other."

Edward's eyes searched my face and I offered him a shaky smile."Well come inside, it's late. Isabella should get some sleep."

I followed Jasper into the motel room and Edward closed the door behind us.

Jake was sitting in the same chair where he had been sitting earlier, but his eyes were trained on the carpet. He didn't even look up as Jasper and I walked back into the room.

Edward's fingers closed around my wrist and I halted, my eyes lifting to his face. "You should sleep, beautiful girl."

He brought my wrist to his lips and kissed it once.

I bit my lip and nodded, retreating to the bed.

As I settled under the covers and stared at the ceiling, I wondered about what Jasper had been trying to tell me.

What other option was there besides escaping?

Edward certainly wasn't going to let me go of his own accord.

I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the soft murmuring of the boys talking. But images of my encounter with Edward outside the motel room danced behind my eyelids.

His fingers against my skin, his lips against mine…

I huffed and rolled over, pulling the covers over my head.

* * *

I was awakened the next morning by Edward shaking me.

"Wake up, Isabella. You have about fifteen minutes, then we have to get on the road."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I looked over at the clock and sighed.

_5:15 AM._ That explained the lack of light streaming through the curtains.

I dragged myself out of bed, tripping when my feet got tangled in the sheets.

Edward caught me before I could fall and he chuckled as he made sure I was steady on my feet again. "Clumsy as ever."

I blushed and grabbed my bag, hurrying into the bathroom to get dressed.

I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth quickly.

I sorted through the clothes Edward had purchased for me and settled for a gray t-shirt and black jeans.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and stuffed my pajamas into my bag.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Jasper and Jake were back. I smiled slightly at them and bent down to pull on my shoes.

"All the paperwork should be in order. The most important thing is that you don't panic."

Edward nodded at Jasper, pulling a dark denim jacket on over his t-shirt.

He sighed and then embraced Jasper. The men clapped each other on the back and Jasper said something to him that I couldn't quite make out.

Edward nodded. "Thank you, Jasper."

Jake stuck his hand out for Edward to shake and Edward hesitated for a moment before gripping his hand firmly.

Jasper walked over to me slowly. "It's been a real pleasure, Isabella."He pulled me into a quick embrace.

"Take care, darlin'."

I wanted to ask Jasper what he had been talking about the night before, but I could feel Edward's eyes on me and I didn't want to arouse any suspicion.

I gave Jake a quick hug and murmured an apology for getting him in trouble with Edward.

He waved me off and flashed me a smile before Edward took my hand in his and led us out the door.

When we got to the parking lot, I turned in the direction of the truck, but Edward kept walking in the other direction, pulling me along behind him.

"Where are we going?"

"We're changing cars."

"So you're just leaving the truck here? Won't the motel owner start asking questions about it?"

Edward smirked down at me. "That's why Jasper _and_ Jake were here. Jake is going to get rid of the truck and then he and Jasper will return to Forks."

I wondered again how much time Edward had spent planning this whole thing.

He stopped at a little blue Nissan and opened the trunk. He tossed his bag inside and motioned for me to do the same.

I noticed that the car had Oregon license plates. I thought about asking where he had obtained the car, but didn't want to push my luck with asking a lot of questions so early in the morning.

No reason to piss Edward off before we were even on the road.

I climbed into the passenger seat as he got behind the wheel and started the car.

* * *

After we had been on the road for a few minutes, I cleared my throat.

"Edward, I think we should talk about last night."

His fingers began to drum softly against the steering wheel. "What about it?"

"I shouldn't have let you kiss me. I was…I don't know. I wasn't thinking clearly." _Your fingers touching my skin make me want to do things I shouldn't want to do. _

"Isabella, stop it. You can lie to yourself if you want to, but we both know the truth. You can pretend that it never happened or write it off as you being lonely and horny, but we both know that you're attracted to me. And it's no secret that I'm attracted to you."

I tried desperately to think of a clever response, but one wouldn't come.

"If you don't want me to kiss you again, I won't. I won't force you." Edward said softly.

I looked down at my hands and in a moment of sheer stupidity, I let an honest response slip through my lips.

"And if I do want you to kiss me again?"

Edward's green eyes found mine briefly before they returned to the road in front of us.

A small smile danced across his lips.

"All you have to do is ask, Isabella."

* * *

**Long-Ass A/N: **

**_I know, I know. I bet you all wanted them to drop their pants and have sexy times against the wall outside the motel room. Me too.  
_**

**_But our poor Bella is a confused girl, give her time to sort herself out. _**

**_Jasper sure didn't help matters with his cryptic advice, did he? _**

**_What did you think of Jasper's reasons for helping Edward? _**

**_Next chapter, we'll get to Canada. _**

**_Reviews cure pneumonia. _**

**_Okay, not really. _**

**_But they make people with pneumonia feel less icky. This person, anyway. _**

**_Outfits are on my profile.  
_**

**_Love you all!_******

**_Happy New Year!  
_**

**_My resolution is to update more frequently. HA!  
_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**I'm so sorry for the delay. More at the bottom.

* * *

**_

Edward was quiet as we drove toward the border.

I wondered if he was concerned about all the attention that would be focused on us as we crossed into Canada.

I was sure he had invested a lot of time and effort into making sure we would cross without issue, but no plan is ever foolproof.

"When we cross, they're going to ask you some questions. What we're doing in Canada, how long we plan on staying…Our story is that we're just a typical couple, going on vacation for a few days. We have no illegal substances, no reason for them to be worried."

I raised my eyebrows. "You have a gun."

Edward's forehead creased and he bit his bottom lip.

Eureka. Edward was worried about the gun.

"I wrapped it in a sweatshirt and hid it in my bag. They probably won't search our bags too thoroughly. If they do, I'll tell them I didn't know it was there. They'll confiscate it and we'll be on our way. Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Isabella."

I almost spoke up and said I wasn't the one who should be worried, but I kept my mouth shut. No need to irritate Edward any further.

A small part of my brain considered the fact that someone might recognize me at the border and my ordeal would be over. But with my fake ID and newly dyed hair, it seemed like a bit of a stretch.

* * *

Crossing the border was frighteningly easy.

As Edward had predicted, they asked a few questions. But the man who interviewed us seemed bored and they spent a grand total of about two minutes searching the car.

They didn't even look in our bags.

I vowed that if I ever made it home, I was going to write a sternly-worded letter to the Canadian government. They let any old riffraff into their country.

Edward looked noticeably more relaxed after we had crossed into Canada. He turned the radio on and began humming along with an old 80's song.

"You have a thing for 80's music, huh?"

He cast a curious glance in my direction and turned the radio down a notch. "How do you know that?"

"I remember you wearing a Depeche Mode shirt once. And when we had to do that creative writing assignment based on a song a few months ago, you wrote yours about a Morrissey song."

"So you did know I existed."

"Of course I did."

"You didn't act like it."

I cocked my head to one side. "Edward, we talked all the time."

He snorted. "Isabella, you asking me if I knew what time it was or to borrow a pen doesn't count."

I opened my mouth to respond, but I knew he was right. I had barely said two words to Edward since I moved to Forks.

"It wasn't intentional. " I murmured.

"What wasn't intentional?"

"My ignoring you. I'm not a social butterfly, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm pretty close with Angela, but aside from her I didn't really make too many friends at Forks High. And besides, it's not like you made any sort of effort either. It takes two to tango." 

_It also takes two to make out outside of a motel room_, my brain interrupted me.

My kiss with Edward seemed to be weighing heavily in my thoughts, even though my brain was screaming at me to forget about it.

Edward grunted noncommittally. "I'm shy."

"It doesn't seem that way to me. It seems like you always say what's on your mind, no matter how inappropriate."

My mind wandered to some of the things he had said outside the motel room. _"You know, I think about you sometimes, when I'm touching my cock." _

I flushed and squirmed in my seat. "Can we stop at the next gas station? I have to go to the bathroom."

Truthfully, I just needed to be out of the car. Sitting in such a confined place with Edward and having such dirty thoughts was making me want to launch myself across the center console and have my way with that mouth of his.

Edward nodded. "No problem."

* * *

After our pit stop to fill the gas tank and pick up some snacks, we drove for about two hours before Edward pulled off the highway.

We drove on a long, winding road that was flanked on either side by thick trees.

After about ten minutes on the deserted road, Edward made a sharp right turn and pulled into a long driveway that led up to a small log cabin. When we were directly in front of the cabin, Edward turned off the engine and sat back in his seat with a sigh.

"This is it."

The cabin was dilapidated to say the least.

It looked like it had been beautiful at some point, but it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

The shutters were dangling precariously from the windows. A few of the wooden steps leading up to the porch were broken, no doubt from the wood rotting. There was an old wooden porch swing dangling sideways on a single rusted chain.

"What is this place?"

"It belongs to my parents' housekeeper, Mrs. Clearwater. She's from Canada originally, she grew up here. The cabin was left to her when her parents died, but she never had the money to fix it up properly. She used to talk about it all the time. I found the address while snooping through her stuff. It seemed perfect. It needs a little fixing up, but it's a place to stay. No one will ever think to look for us here."

It was true. We were out in the middle of nowhere, the nearest town almost twenty-five miles away.

The road that lead to the house was difficult to spot from the main road, so it would be almost impossible for anyone to stumble upon it and decide to investigate. That was if anyone was even looking for us in Canada.

A sinking feeling of hopelessness bloomed in my stomach and I felt the sudden urge to vomit.

I threw the car door open and fell to the ground on my hands and knees, dry-heaving.

Edward was beside me in a flash, crouching down and gathering my hair in his hand to hold it away from my face. "What's wrong, Isabella? What is it?"

I closed my eyes as his fingers grazed the back of my neck. "I'm never going home, am I? You're going to keep me here as a prisoner. They're not going to find us. I'm never going to see Charlie again."

Edward's fingers tightened in my hair, but he was silent. Then I felt the gentle pressure of his lips against my temple.

"It doesn't have to be that way, Isabella. We could be happy together. There's something here, something between us. A spark. We both feel it. It's only a flicker now, but…We could be happy. I could make you happy."

I straightened, leaning back against the car and stretching my legs out in front of me.

Tears streaked down my face and I bit my lip as I lifted my eyes to Edward's.

"You know this will never be what you want it to be. I'll never love you. I can't, not after what you've done."

"I don't believe that, Isabella."

His words were sincere and his face was earnest. He honestly believed that I would love him someday.

He stood up and moved back around to the other side of the car. He leaned in and pulled the keys out of the ignition and pocketed them.

"I'm going inside to assess the situation. You can come with me or stay out here in the car. It's up to you."

He made his way up the front stairs of the cabin and I watched him fiddle with the front door for a moment before it sprang open and he disappeared inside.

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants. I climbed back into the passenger seat and closed the door behind me.

I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. I needed to collect my thoughts.

I had been holding out hope the entire time that someone would rescue me. Hope that my father and Forks' finest would come swarming in with their sirens blaring and cart Edward off to jail.

But now that hope was gone. I was stranded in the middle of the Canadian wilderness with no one around for miles.

Edward had the keys to the car and he still had the gun.

My eyes flew open. 

_The gun._

Edward hadn't taken the gun out of his bag after we'd crossed the border. That meant that his gun was still in the trunk of the car.

I glanced out the window to make sure that Edward was still inside and then leaned across the center console and under the driver's seat to pull the lever that opened the trunk.

I opened the car door as quietly as possible and made my way around to the back of the car. I opened the trunk cautiously, grimacing as its hinges squeaked a little.

I unzipped Edward's bag and dug around inside for a moment before my fingers closed around cold metal.

The gun was heavier than I had expected it to be. I gripped it tightly, my finger over the trigger.

I closed the trunk as quietly as possible and started up the rotted wooden steps.

I stopped in the doorway and kept the hand that was holding the gun concealed behind my back.

The inside of the cabin was dimly lit, the only light coming from the dirty windows. All the furniture was covered with dusty white sheets and I had the strong urge to sneeze.

Edward looked up at the sound of my approaching footsteps, a smile spreading slowly over his handsome features.

"Most of the furniture is in good shape. The place just needs a good cleaning."

I blinked and tightened my grip on the gun, my heart thundering in my chest.

"Isabella? Aren't you going to come inside? We should clean this place up a bit before it gets dark. I don't know if the lamps work."

I whipped my arm out in front of me, pointing the gun directly at Edward.

"Give me the car keys. Now."

* * *

_**DUN DUN DUN!**_

_**I know, I know. A cliffhanger. Dontcha just hate me?**_

_**I'm so sorry about the delay in updating. **_

_**I've been sick on and off ever since my bout with pneumonia and then I misplaced the flash drive that contains all my writing for this story.  
(I found it, PHEW!)**_

_**I won't make promises about when the next update will happen, but I PROMISE you that it will never be so long between updates again.**_

_**In the mean time, I'd love a review to let me know what you guys think is going to happen!  
**_

_**Mucho thanks to Kate ( or FrauSorge as she goes by on Twitter ) for pimping this fic.**_

_**If you have pimped this fic or have seen it pimped somewhere else, please let me know!  
**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hello, my dears.  
Thank you all for your kind reviews, Tweets and PMs.  
**_

_**Meet you at the bottom!**_

* * *

Edward lifted his hands slowly into the air. "Don't do anything stupid, Isabella."

"Shut up. Give me the fucking car keys."

"Tsk tsk. Such language. Relax, Isabella. The keys are right here in my pocket."

He reached his fingers into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out the car keys. He dangled them out towards me.

"See? No reason for anyone to get hurt."

I kept the gun trained on him and walked over to him quickly.

But just as I reached for the keys, he jerked his hand back and grabbed my arm with his other hand.

"Let go, Edward. I'll shoot you."

"No you won't."

My eyes flashed and I pulled the trigger.

I waited for the earsplitting sound of a gunshot, but the only sound that came was a dull click.

Edward jerked the gun out of my hand and threw it to the ground.

He gripped my chin roughly with one hand, his other hand still gripping my arm.

"Did you really think I would be so fucking stupid as to leave a loaded gun within your grasp, Isabella? I unloaded the gun when we crossed the border. I was hoping I could trust you enough to leave the gun alone, but I can see now that I was mistaken."

"I hate you." I spat angrily at him. "I hate you so much."

"You don't mean that."

"Oh, but I do. You selfish bastard. What, you pined after me and I didn't pay you any attention so you _kidnapped_ me? Blame it on whatever fucked up mental problems you have, but you're a fucking _psycho_. When I get out of here, and I _will_ get out of here if it's the last thing I do, I can't _wait_ to see you rot in prison."

Edward shoved me hard and I stumbled backwards.

"Get your hands off of me."

He shoved me again and I fell back against the wall of the cabin.

"I fucking _hate_ you." I hissed.

Edward's eyes flashed and he grasped both of my wrists in his hands, squeezing them painfully.

"Bastard. Fucking asshole!" l struggled against his grip.

"Shut that pretty mouth of yours, Isabella. You don't know what you're saying."

I was so angry I was trembling. "I know exactly what I'm saying. You might as well put the bullets back in that gun and shoot me. I'd rather die than be here with you."

Edward barked out a laugh. "You're such a petulant little girl, Isabella. Are you going to stomp your foot and stick out your bottom lip now? You throw quite the tantrum."

I opened my mouth to retort, but he released my wrists and clamped a hand across my mouth.

"I am a very patient man, but you are pushing me over the edge."

His eyes were angry and his jaw tensed before he opened his mouth again.

"I don't want to gag you, but I will if you don't shut the _fuck_ up, now."

I pressed my lips together, surprised at his outburst. His eyes softened and he moved his hand from my mouth, cupping my face gently.

"I hate being angry with you." he whispered.

My heart thawed a bit.

I had torn this boy apart with my words. I told him he was psychotic, that I hated him.

Yet here he stood, waiting for me to love him.

"I wish you hadn't kidnapped me. I wish you had just asked me out like a normal person. I wish…"

_I wish you weren't insane._

Edward's eyes were sad. "I fucked it all up, didn't I? I didn't mean to, Isabella. All I ever wanted was…"

He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "They adored Allie, why wouldn't they? She was perfect. Intelligent, beautiful, talented. What was I? I was a fuck-up that they had to hide from all their rich friends and they never let me forget it."

"Who? Your parents?"

"Fucking poor excuse for parents. They ignored me my whole life, shoving me from doctor to doctor, institution to institution. Everyone pushed me away. Even at school, everyone ignored me. Besides Alice, Jasper was the only person who ever cared. And then you came stumbling into Forks High; this effortlessly beautiful girl who was socially awkward and _so_ intelligent. I wanted you to notice me so badly. You never blatantly ignored me like the others, but you just seemed so far out of my reach. I never wanted to hurt you."

He sank to his knees in front of me, tears sliding slowly down his cheeks.

"All I ever wanted was for you to love me and now I've ruined any chance of that ever happening."

My heart wrenched in my chest.

I reached down, cradling his head gently in my hands.

I couldn't fathom Edward's situation.

Charlie loved me unconditionally. He had told me countless times that he would do anything for me, that I was the center of his world.

I knew the pain and rejection that I had felt when Renee had seemed to transfer her affections so quickly to her new husband.

I couldn't imagine being emotionally abandoned by _both_ parents and losing the person you loved the most.

"What have they done to you?" I whispered.

I dropped to my knees facing him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his chest.

Edward tensed, but after a moment he returned my embrace.

He let out a gut-wrenching sob, his body shuddering against mine.

I tightened my arms around him. "Shhhhh, Edward. It's okay."

I sighed as he wept into my shoulder, clutching me so tightly it was almost painful.

I wondered how long it had been since anyone had shown Edward any sort of affection.

I pushed his baseball cap off of his head and it fell to the floor with a soft thud.

I ran my fingers over his closely cropped hair, my fingers massaging his scalp gently.

His sobs lessened and then stopped altogether, his breath coming in soft pants against my neck.

After a few moments he lifted his head from my shoulder.

His eyes were red, his cheeks stained with tears.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I'm sorry for everything."

"I know you are."

"I love you."

I swallowed thickly and brushed at his cheeks with my thumbs. "I know you do."

I leaned in and pressed my lips to his forehead. "You're still not going to let me go, are you?"

He shook his head slowly. "I need more time, Isabella. I'm sorry."

I nodded once, turning my face away.

He stood and fished the car keys out of his pocket. "I'm going to go get our bags. I'll be right back."

I nodded again.

As I watched him leave the cabin, I felt the overwhelming urge to cry.

For the first time since Edward had kidnapped me, I felt confused about what I wanted.

* * *

_**So most of you guessed that the gun wasn't loaded. You guys are too good!**_

_**I seriously can't get over all the love I'm receiving for this story. You all are so amazing!**_

_**Thank you for all the amazing reviews, Tweets and PMs.**_

_**I did want to address one PM that I received from someone who shall remain nameless. In their PM, they threatened to stop reading unless I update faster.**_

_**Trust me guys, I update as fast as I possibly can. **_

_**Between working full time, my boyfriend and other commitments in my life, it's very difficult to update frequently.**_

_**I truly admire the authors who can update daily, weekly, etc. But I am not one of those authors. I simply don't have the time!**_

_**That said, I hope you all know that I LOVE all the reviews this story receives. They are wonderful motivation for me to keep writing.**_

_**I'll update as soon as I can! **_

_**Until then, much love!  
**_


	11. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Sorry to get your hopes up about a new chapter. I apologize that I have been MIA.**

**As some of you may know, my mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She will be receiving chemotherapy that begins in two weeks.**

**My mother is not married and lives halfway across the country from myself and my brothers. Therefore, she has been alone in her battle thus far.**

**After much thought and a lot of planning, my boyfriend and I have decided to move in with my mother. She will need a lot of care and someone to hold her hand through this ordeal. As I am the only one of her children who is not firmly rooted in Maryland with a family, it made the most sense for me to go.**

**I'm so thankful that I have such a loving and supportive boyfriend who has agreed to move with me and help me take care of my mother.**

**To make a long story short, I don't believe I will have time to continue this story anytime soon. I understand that this may come as a disappointment to some, but my family is my priority.**

**So I'm putting this story on a hiatus that I _hope_ will not be permanent.**

**I'm so grateful for the reviews and all the love that you have showed for this story. It means the world to me.**

**With Much Love,**

**Trepidant**


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